Beef production is a half-billion dollar-a-year industry for Tennessee, and University of Tennessee agriculture researchers work to improve livestock production statewide.
Researchers now have new technology to help gauge what healthy cattle eat and how farmers can limit their feed costs, which can be expensive.
The new system sends information from the barn straight to a researcher’s desk.
A program called Growsafe at the UT Plateau AgResearch Center helps monitor cattle.
“We’ve traditionally been researching the area of reproduction and this is going to give us a huge push in the area of animal nutrition,” said Walt Hitch.
When cattle poke their head through the chute, the monitoring device starts recording.
“So when we put feed in, it knows how much we put it in and when we put it in. And then we know which animal ate and how much it ate. So it really has a lot of potential as far as the kinds of research. We can use different rations. We can look at feed efficiency,” said Hitch.
There are only about 100 of those units in the world and about 60 in the United States. The key advantage is the immediate and precise information for researchers.
They say the system lets them monitor a large herd at once.
Travis Mulliniks, the beef specialist for the Plateau AgResearch Center, can monitor the cattle from his desktop computer.
“The amount of feed we put in here, it actually records, sends it to a data acquisition panel that sends a signal up to my office that can record it. So, once a cow comes in with a EID in her ear, she sticks her head in to take a bite. I know exactly which cow is in there taking a bite from my office,” said Mulliniks.
He says the data gathered with GrowSafe will help producers with feed costs and management decisions.
To stay in business, farmers need cattle to eat well. The system gives them the information needed to raise a healthy heard.
This report is our land-grant partner, the University of Tennessee.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council published a joint press release regarding the advancement of legislation to delist the Mexican Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species Act.
January 23, 2026 05:05 PM
Placements and marketings beat expectations, but declining on-feed totals and feeder constraints keep the supply story supportive for cattle prices into 2026. Dr. Derrell Peel, with Oklahoma State University, joined us to break down cattle-on-feed numbers and provide his broader market outlook.
January 23, 2026 04:40 PM
·
USDA Rural Development Director for Kentucky, Travis Burton, joined us to discuss the Princeton facility (formerly Porter Road Meats), now backed by the USDA, and its role in expanding domestic meat processing capacity.
January 23, 2026 03:39 PM
·
Pennsylvania Farm Show scholarship recipient Elizabeth Dice discusses her award, her background in farming, and her path forward in the agriculture industry.
January 23, 2026 01:48 PM
·
Mike Steenhoek with the Soy Transportation Coalition discusses supply chain challenges facing agriculture as snow, sleet and ice threaten most of the Eastern U.S.
January 23, 2026 01:36 PM
·
Nearly everyone in the South Texas ag community appears extremely worried about the potential of a New World screwworm epidemic, according to a local veterinarian. RFD NEWS Correspondent Frank McCaffrey reports.
January 23, 2026 11:56 AM
·
Rural population growth and stabilizing economic indicators point to post-pandemic recovery, but uneven income, shifting industries, and regional divides remain key challenges for rural communities.
January 23, 2026 08:00 AM
·
Large-scale land purchases signal rising competition for ranchland, reinforcing its value while reshaping long-term access and control in rural agriculture.
January 23, 2026 07:00 AM
·
While row crops are expected to see softer impacts, analysts say severe weather of this magnitude will not be as kind to cattle producers.
January 22, 2026 11:05 AM
·
